October's victory assembly to celebrate Leaders of the Month, Top Crocs, and progress on our school-wide WIGs was held this morning. It all started with another victory lap around the school for Leaders of the Month and Top Crocs to be cheered on by their peers. Then the whole school gathered in the auditorium for the assembly. This student-led assembly highlighted a lot of exciting progress that has been made in term 1. Here are some highlights:

Our students have moved up a total of 96 reading levels!

In term 1, only 14 school tickets were given. That's less than half of the 30 tickets given out during term 1 last school year!

Mrs. Crowley's, Mrs. Hardman's, Mrs. Sumsion's, and Mr. Sedgwick's classes have earned doughnut parties for their exceptional cleanliness and quietness in the lunchroom this month.

At the end of the assembly, Mr. Duncan announced the winners from the Croc Card board who will get to have a party in the "Croc Cave" this afternoon. The Dance club also performed a fantastic number to a medly of Halloween-themed songs.

The teacher spotlights continue, this time with Mrs. Call! Annie Call is new to Cherry Creek this year, and was an intern teacher at Hobble Creek Elementary last year. Mrs. Call went to BYU to study education, but she also received a minor in TESOL and Family Life. She met her husband at BYU, and they have been married for four years. Some fun facts about Mrs. Call include her talent for talking in movie quotes, enjoying going to the library, loving Netflix, and she can sing! Her favorite teacher gifts are clorox wipes and peanut butter M&M's. Thanks for being such a wonderful addition to Cherry Creek, Mrs. Call!

Today in Mrs. Finch's class, our speech-language pathologist, Miss Barrett, and speech-language technician, Miss Collins came in to teach an exciting group lesson about pumpkins! The class discussed all about what pumpkins are used for, what they are made of, and how to describe them. Then, we used a pumpkin for a fun experiment. In a carved out pumpkin, students put in baking soda, a few drops of dish soap, and vinegar. Each student voted on a hypothesis they thought would happen. Sure enough, the pumpkin erupted with foam! What a fun way for the students in Mrs. Finch's class to get excited about fall!

Last week, the Student Lighthouse Team met for the first time, had a great time getting to know each other, and learning how they would work together this year. The Student Lighthouse Team is comprised of one student from each class in the school. Mr. Duncan came and spoke with them about being leaders and how to help people feel welcome and happy. They also brainstormed with Mrs. Sumsion and Mrs. Call, their leadership mentors, about how they could serve the school this year.

Last week, Cherry Creek celebrated National School Lunch week with the help of our incredible lunch room staff! They do so much to encourage our students to try new foods, eat well-balanced meals, and keep their bodies healthy. Nebo School District also has a Student Wellness Policy for parents to be aware of:

Parents, teachers, and schools are encouraged to use non food items for parties, celebrations, and rewards. Foods made available to students on campus for the purposes of class or school parties, celebrations, or rewards should feature healthy choices, and emphasize nutrient density, fruits and vegetables, minimal fats, and added sugars, and moderate portion sizes.

Habit #7, "Sharpen the Saw", reminds us that balance is best, and that includes taking care of our bodies!

The first Victory Assembly of the school year was today, celebrating students receiving the "Leader of the Month" and "Top Croc" awards. On the way to the assembly, students receiving these awards were applauded by their fellow students during a victory lap around the school with Crocky, the Cherry Creek mascot. At the assembly, Mr. Duncan drew names of an additional 25 students who received a Croc Card in the month of September. These students were invited to the Croc Cave for games today with Mr. Duncan.

Mr. Duncan then introduced a new challenge to the students for improving the lunchroom environment. Each day, one lower-grade class and one upper-grade class will receive a point for the categories of cleanliness and quietness. At the end of the month, the classes with the most points will earn a doughnut party!

It was a fun and exciting day to celebrate some of Cherry Creek's finest leaders!

Today, we're putting the spotlight on Mrs. Finch, one of our fine special education teachers! She teaches students grades 4-6 in reading, writing, and math (math being her favorite!) Ever since she was young, Mrs. Finch has known she wanted to help special education students, so she attended Utah State University to do just that. She is married to her high school sweetheart, has one daughter, and a son on the way! If she had all the time in the world, she would spend time at her family's cabin, eat junk food, and dance. Mrs. Finch is a former dance instructor, and is very talented! Mrs. Finch is admired for her professionalism and obvious devotion to her students. Thanks for all you do, Mrs. Finch!

Starting this year, teachers at Cherry Creek are spending extra time after school on early-out days to participate in CMI (Comprehensive Math Instruction) training. Today's lesson was on how to better engage students and strategies to help students reason among themselves instead of getting answers from the teacher. It's an impressive sight to see our dedicated Cherry Creek teachers working together to improve their own knowledge and skills!